


Sell my Soul

by that_squishy_robot



Category: Left 4 Dead (Video Games)
Genre: Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Bottom Ellis, Bottom Nick, Fluff and Angst, Fluff and Smut, Hurt/Comfort, Keith and Ellis are best friends, M/M, Nick doesn’t know how to deal with his emotions, Not as serious as it sounds, One Big Happy Family, Shower Sex, Top Ellis, Top Nick, jealous nick, really it’s just a couple of sad chapters in the beginning, so much cuddling, this one is happy
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-13
Updated: 2020-11-27
Packaged: 2021-03-05 20:21:36
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 10,441
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25871281
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/that_squishy_robot/pseuds/that_squishy_robot
Summary: Ellis is separated from the group after an attack. Everyone thinks the worst. Nick is completely lost on what to do next.While trying to get back to his friends, Ellis runs into Keith of all people. The two of them get to pull a few stupid stunts to get back home.
Relationships: Ellis/Nick (Left 4 Dead)
Comments: 23
Kudos: 91





	1. Realization

It had happened so fast. The four of them had been attacked by a larger than average horde, causing the small group to be backed into a corner. Of course, they had still made it through with the help of blind luck and stubbornness. Their weapons were practically useless at this point, but the infected were down and the safe house they had decided to set up camp in, was only a hundred feet away.

They were safe for now.

“Ellis, you need to watch where you swing that fucking ax, I like my face the way it is.” Nick said, trying to pop his shoulder back into place. A crowbar was not the greatest weapon.

“Give the boy a break.” Coach laughed. “We’ve all wanted to take an ax to your face at some point or another.” 

Nick rolled his eyes, not being able to come up with a reply quick enough for it to not look pathetic. “Got anything to say for yourself, Overalls?” He was only met with silence, because when he turned around, the youngest member of the team was missing.

Coach and Rochelle had obviously just noticed as well, judging by their sudden panicked looks. 

“Ellis, sweetie.” Rochelle called, though she had to keep her voice down, to avoid summoning another horde.

“This isn’t funny, Hick. You’re gonna end up getting pounced, and we’re not coming for your ass.”

There was still no answer, and suddenly they were running back to where they had made their last stand. Amidst the gore, there was still no sign of Ellis.

“This is not happening.” Rochelle mumbled to herself. “Please, this cannot be happening.”

Nick could see her slowly start to panic. It was no secret that she saw herself as an older sister to the kid.

“Maybe he got smoked during the attack. There was so much going on…” Coach rubbed his face in frustration. “We need to check all of the ledges and alleys. Maybe we can find him.”

Both Nick and Rochelle agreed. Though they knew in the back of their minds, that if this was the case…. they wouldn’t find the kid alive.

Fuck. Nick should have kept a better eye on him. Ellis was a magnet for the special infected. There had just been so many zombies. He’d hardly be able to keep them off himself.

Fuck. How long had the kid been missing? It couldn’t have been that long, right?

_Damn it Overalls. You better be ok. I don’t think I can do this without you._

~~~  
Since they had cleared out the last of the horde, only a few infected were left in this part of town. Most hidden away in dark corners in alleys.

Just as there was no sign of the infected, there was no sign of Ellis either. They were losing daylight fast, and it would be impossible to find him at night. Nick didn’t want to think about what would happen to the kid if he was left all alone out here in the dark.

“Hey, there’s a dead smoker over here!” Rochelle called out. There were signs that it had been hacked down with an ax.

Nick sighed in relief. Great. OK. That meant Ellis had gotten away. He was probably held up somewhere, waiting on them. Nick would patch up any injuries he’d gotten after being dragged away, and then they would book it back to the safe house. After that he’d never let the stupid hick out of his sight.

At least that’s what he thought until he found the fire ax. The one Ellis carried everywhere. But it was fine. He probably dropped it in the struggle. It wasn’t worth going back for.

His hat though… The stupid blue and white trucker hat laying ten feet away, in a pool of blood.

Ellis wouldn’t have left that behind. He had a dove into a zombie infested swamp to get it back once.

There was…. Fuck. There was so much blood, and was that scraps of Ellis’s t-shirt? Oh god. Please. No. No. No.

Nick picked the hat off the ground, swallowing hard. He couldn’t… Please, anything but this.

Rochelle stifled a sob. Her brown eyes had tears threatening to spill over. Coach on the other hand looked angry. Most likely at himself. If he had paid more attention to his surroundings, if he’d been faster. Coach wrapped an arm around Rochelle’s shoulders pulling her close.

Nick held the hat in his hands, gently tracing the brim of it with his thumb. “God damn it, Overalls.” He mumbled to himself, closing his eyes. Like doing so would make the situation better. If he didn’t see all of the blood, maybe Ellis would appear in front of him. He’d snatch his hat back, relieved that it hadn’t gotten lost in the scuffle.

But when Nick opened his eyes, this was the real world. What was left of Ellis was on the pavement. 

The sky was only getting darker. “We… we need to get back to the safe house.” Nick finally said. He couldn’t stay any longer. He couldn’t look.

~~~~  
No one said a word on the way to the safe house. Nick couldn’t tell if it was because of the grief or because Ellis wasn’t there to start the conversation. 

The silence was almost deafening. The infected had even decided that now what’s the best time for them to stay quiet.

Once locked in the safe house, Nick took one of the spare rooms and shut himself in. Suddenly he couldn’t stand anymore, instead opting to fall back and slide down the wall.

He and Ellis were supposed to share this room. Nick had complained all day because he was going to be stuck in a room with Ellis the chatterbox. That he wouldn’t get any sleep.

In reality, there was a part of him that couldn’t wait. He’d have the kid alone with him all night. They were going to have to squeeze into a twin-size bed to sleep. Ellis was going to have to be pressed up against his chest, in the only comfortable position to sleep in such a small space.

Damnit. He never got to tell him… anything. Nothing about how much he cared about him. How he was the only thing that made the zombie apocalypse bearable. Ellis died probably thinking Nick hated him.

Nick closed his eyes, running fingers through his hair. The last thing he told Ellis, was to shut the hell up. The kid had just kept talking, and he had a fucking migraine. So he had just snapped.

Hearing Ellis’s defected “ok”, was probably the last thing he’d heard from him.

Nick had felt guilty right afterward, promising himself he’d let the kid talk all night to make up for it. 

Why couldn’t his last words to the kid have been anything else?

_Nice shooting, Ace,_

_Don’t worry, Kid. I’m here._

Why did there have to be last words at all? Why couldn’t he have been there to protect him? Ellis should be here. He should be smiling and telling some stupid story. He should be laying back on the bed with his arms crossed behind his head, chattering on and on.

Nick should be going through their bags, as he tried not to laugh about whatever the topic was this time.

He pressed Ellis’s hat against his face and breathed in the strong scent of motor oil that clung to everything the kid owned. Even in the zombie apocalypse, he smelled like he’d never left his workshop. 

It was something that had become comforting to Nick.

He couldn’t keep going like this. Ellis was all he had. The only reason he could keep getting up and surviving this shit. If the kid was gone, what was the point? 

There was no happy ending a helicopter away anymore. Not if Ellis wasn’t sitting next to him and excitedly yelling about how they had made it. He couldn’t do this without him. He didn’t want to. Rochelle and Coach we’re counting on him, but how could he be of any use at this point?


	2. Rednecks Squared

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ellis runs into Keith after being separated from the others.

There were so many fucking zombies, Ellis had long since ran out of ammo and was down to using the fire ax that had saved his life multiple times.

It did this time too. He hadn’t heard the Smoker and certainly hadn’t seen it, but before he could react, the thing had wrapped him in a suffocating hold. Dragged him right out of the horde and away from his friends. He had tried yelling for help, but the others couldn’t hear him. Especially not when he was already down the street at this point.

His ax had been wrapped up with him and he could just barely use it to cut through the tongue that had been trying to hang him.

Ellis was gasping for breath, trying to unwrap himself. He had to get back to the others. Fuck. He could just barely hear their gun fire at this point.

However, it was drowned out by not only the screech of an upcoming horde, but also yell of a Charger. Ellis used all his strength to roll out of the way. It led to the Charger mowing down through the horde, causing the zombies’ decaying bodies to splatter blood everywhere. It soaked his shoes and everything.

Shit. Shit. Shit. That thing had been mad. He didn’t want to even think about what it could have done to him. Of course, he couldn’t enjoy his small victory. The Charger had startled a Witch, and it looked like she was blaming him.

Ellis was back on his feet running. The Witch had gotten close, ripping at his favorite T-shirt. One of the few damn things he had left in this awful world. 

At this point, he couldn’t hear the others. All of these buildings even looked the same as he ran further into the town. This wasn’t Georgia, he didn’t know this place like the back of his hand.

The fire escape for the three-story building looked like it was going to be his only hope. Man, he really hoped that Witches couldn’t climb. Ellis jumped up, grabbing the ladder and started his climb upwards.

He didn’t look down. Couldn’t bring himself to. If this didn’t work, he’d be a dead man. 

Of course, it didn’t fucking work. The fire escape was already old, add to that that there was absolutely no maintenance to it before the apocalypse. The screws had squeaked loudly as they came loose off the brick wall. Just as Ellis made it to the top, the thing was falling backwards.

“Fuck!” He shouted. “Come on!” Before the ladder could fall backwards with him on it, it was roughly pulled forward. Ellis hit the side with a pained groan.

He decided not to look a gift horse in the mouth and yanked himself over the side. He could deal with whatever was on the roof after he wasn’t dangling in front of a Witch.

“Fuckin hell man!” A voice shouted. “You were almost zombie chow!”

Ellis looked up to see a very familiar hat, laying on top of red curls.

“Keith?” He questioned quietly at first, like this was some kind of crazy hallucination. Then… “Keith, you son of a bitch!”

“Huh? Holy shit! Ellis!” 

Suddenly they were running into each other at full force, and colliding with a thud. If either one of them hadn’t been a homegrown southern boy with sturdy bodies from hard work… well this situation could have possibly ended with injuries.

Thankfully there were none, and Ellis ended up holding his best friend tightly against him for the first time in months. It felt like coming home in away. Funny considering, they were hundreds of miles from Georgia, in a place they’d never been in their lives up until now.

“Shit! Keith, why the hell are you here? You were supposed to be on that helicopter.” 

The helicopter Ellis had watched leave him behind on the top of the hotel. Keith had been on the other side of town and Ellis said he’d meet him at the evacuation point, since the zombie proof truck plan had gone bad fast.

The only reason he had been able to stay so positive, was because he knew his best friend and only living family had been far away from this hell hole. Now however…

“Man El. You would not believe the shit that happened.” Keith groaned, electing to lay his cheek against Ellis’s dark curly hair. “I was living it up in one of those CEDA camps, had my own tent and everything! Then the military rolls in and says it’s overpopulated, and they’re going to airlift us to Canada. Canada El! What the hell was I supposed to do in Canada? Anyway, half the people in the helicopter started trying to eat each other. We crashed in the Woods on the outside of town. I’ve been here three days already. Yer…the first person I’ve seen alive since then.”

“Shit.” Ellis cursed, hugging his friend closer, unconsciously checking him for injuries. Though that was always a big part of their friendship. “Yer one lucky son of a bitch.”

“I’m lucky? Man, you just scaled a wall to get away from that crying chick.” Keith laughed. Said crying chick, was still screaming on the ground, trying to climb up to them.

“You know, when you were climbing up, I almost shot ya. I hadn’t seen anyone alive and you weren’t wearing yer hat.”

Ellis abruptly pulled away, feeling his head. Sure enough his favorite hat was missing. “Ya have to be kidding me!” He shouted, rubbing his face in annoyance. Not only did he lose his favorite hat, but he also lost a bet to Nick. Ellis had claimed, there was no way he would lose it through this ordeal. Jinxed himself is what he did.

Wait, Nick. Fuck, he still didn’t know where the others were. Hopefully they were OK. Ellis didn’t doubt how badass they were, but he preferred to be down there with them providing back up.

“Keith, I got separated from my friends in the horde. We gotta find 'em.” He still had a metric fuck ton of stories to tell Keith about them, but that could wait.

“Hey man, I’m all for it but….” Keith looked over the side. There were a lot of common infected down there. The two of them weren’t going to get far. Especially since Ellis had no more ammo for his sniper rifle, and his ax was missing in action.

Not to mention it was starting to get late. He knew firsthand that being out at night was far more dangerous than being out during the day. There were things the group had not encountered just yet, and Ellis wanted to keep it that way.

“Yeah… yeah. Yer right. I just…. fuck. I hope they’re ok.” He sighed.

Keith laid a sympathetic hand on his shoulder. “Well, I think that if y’all have gotten this far, they’ll be fine without ya for a night.”

It was not that he didn’t trusted them to be OK. He just couldn’t stop thinking _What if?_

“Come on. I found a safe house up on one of these roofs here. It’s where I’ve been held up since the crash. We’re gonna have to jump around like squirrels but will make it.”


	3. Understanding

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ellis gets a short moment of peace, and Nick reflects on the time he spent with him.

The safe house was like any other, save for the fact Keith had done some customizing on it. Looked like he had found some posters to hang up over the depressing writing on the walls.

Ellis couldn’t complain, specifically when he saw that this safe house had fucking power and running water. It was so beautiful, he could cry. There was a shower and laundry room. A part of him thought that he might have died in the struggle and ended up in some sort of strange purgatory.

Either way, he was getting in the shower and not coming out for at least an hour. The safe house he and the others found, had power but no water. They were going to be so excited when he showed them this place. Especially Nick. Man had not stopped complaining about wanting a shower since they had to bathe in a lake. Ellis had fun… Nick not so much.

“I just realized you’re still wearin the shop’s uniform.” Keith commented, eyeing him up and down.

Well it was sort of the uniform. Ellis had never gotten a chance to change out of his coveralls. Not that he wanted to at first.

They had been a reminder of what life was like before. He missed his job. His shop. His house. He missed the family he had lost to the green flu, before people started turning into zombies.

“Never thought about it.” Ellis shrugged. “Favorite shirt is fucked though.”

“Hold on. I managed to get my stuff from the crash.” Keith said excitedly. He pulled out an old leather bag from the closet and tossed it on the kitchen counter.

“Alright let’s see… we’ve got jeans. The good ones without motor oil stains. And… oh, a Jurassic park T-shirt.” He tossed the clothes at Ellis, smiling.

The T-shirt looked quite familiar. Ellis was sure it was his own shirt that had gotten mixed up with Keith’s stuff. His own dark gray Jurassic Park T-shirt had gone missing before the apocalypse after all.

Though he wasn’t complaining. Actually, it was kind of nice to see something from his old life. “Thanks man. I was getting real tired of always re-knotting these coveralls.”

~~~  
The hot shower worked wonders for Ellis’s sore muscles. He had just stood under the water for who knows how long. By the time he had come back to himself, the water was starting to get cold. He had quickly scrubbed down and got out before it had lost all source of heat.

The soft Jurassic Park T-shirt had stretched over him perfectly. Just slightly tight, but that was the way he liked his shirts. Man don’t even get him started on the jeans. It was the little things in life.

Keith was already in bed when Ellis walked out of the bathroom. He quietly slipped under the covers, hoping to get at least an hour or two of rest. Honestly, he wasn’t expecting to.  
~~~  
Nick was sure he managed to get at least an hour of sleep. Though you surely wouldn’t be able to tell by looking at him. Nick looked like shit. He knew that and wasn’t concerned about what everyone would have to say about it.

Ellis would’ve of course been the first to notice. He’d give him that worried look and ask him how he slept… Fuck. He’d probably offer to sit with him while he tried to get a few minutes of rest in.

Nick pulled out his pack of cigarettes and lit one up. He needed something to take the edge off. He’d prefer some sort of alcohol, though it would be impossible to actually get a hold of.

He’s been locked in this room all night and hadn’t seen the others since they had gotten into the safe house. Nick didn’t know how to face them. Their friend was gone. He died alone in one of the worst ways he possibly could.

How the fuck was he supposed to face them now? He couldn’t even get off the floor. Nick hadn’t left his position against the wall all night. Couldn’t bring himself to. Wasn’t sure if he even could now.

Ellis would have freaked out if he saw him like this. He’d be pulling Nick to his feet and shoving him out the door. They weren’t dead yet after all.

But Ellis was dead. If that bright-eyed kid couldn’t make it, what hope was there for the rest of them?

Despite that, Nick forced himself to stand up. Though not for any defiant reason. He was just dehydrated as hell.

He took a deep breath before opening the door. Coach and Rochelle we’re already up, either that or they hadn’t slept at all as well.

Nick didn’t say anything to them as he walked past, to grab a bottle of water from the safe house stash. He didn’t have anything to say.

“Nick…” Rochelle started, stopping as if she needed to choose her words carefully. “I…. Coach and I were talking. We need to get out of town before another horde shows up.”

Nick didn’t say anything. He thanked his years of gambling for his poker face. He didn’t want to leave. Not yet. He knew Ellis was gone, but that didn’t stop him from thinking of that slim chance… The insanely small chance that Ellis was going to walk right into the safe house, all smiles and stupid stories. He’d tell them what happened, and how he survived.

Everyone would be so happy to see him. It’d even end in a group hug, that Nick would unwillingly get dragged into. He wouldn’t complain though. He’d wrap an arm over the kids shoulders and lean against him.

Leaving now sounded like leaving Ellis behind, even if it wasn’t.

“We figured we can get on the outskirts of town and find a working car.” Coach explained.

How the hell were they supposed to do that? Ellis was the only one out of all of them that could get a car working! Nick could hotwire, but that was it. Ellis was the only one who scavenged parts and jump-started cars.

What? Were they just hoping that a car would be sitting out there waiting for them? That it would be full of gas, and not have a single problem after sitting out for so long. They were going to rely on luck? Look where luck had gotten them so far!

“We should try to scavenge supplies first.” Nick finally said. He just needed one more night here… just one more to make it real.

Surprisingly Coach and Rochelle agreed with him. Maybe they needed exactly what he needed. Maybe they were in the same boat. Of course, Nick would never ask.

~~~  
The infected we’re back in the streets but distracted enough for them to make their way through the town. At least most of it.

They had started at a pharmacy. There was actually a lot left in terms of supplies. Nick had shoved plenty of pain pills and antibiotics in his bag.

He’d learn his lesson when it came to medications. Ellis had gotten so sick from that rainstorm. How could he not have? The kid has been practically drowned by a charger. There was no telling how much water he had gotten into his lungs.

He remembered staying in the bottom of Vergil’s boat, trying to bring down the kid’s fever. How he told Ellis everything was going to be ok, even though Nick had no fucking clue if it would be.

Ellis had gotten better, then of course they had gotten the message that Louisiana was compromised and to stay away. Ellis was devastated.

“Hey, is that smoke out there?” Coach called out.

Nick could barely see through the dirty windows of the pharmacy. The three of them walked outside and climbed up the fire escape of the building.

The higher vantage point made it much easier to see out. Rochelle took out her rifle and looked through the scope.

“Holy shit… that’s a lot of zombies.” She said lowering her gun. “Looks like a helicopter crashed out there at some point. It must be the reason zombies Flock to the town. They’re… they’re blocking the only way out.”

She handed the rifle to Nick, so he could take a look as well. The helicopter wasn’t smoking a whole lot. Easy for them not to notice, especially since it had been drizzling yesterday. Nick wondered how the hell Coach had noticed it, but he supposed if you were a high school teacher you could spot disasters from a mile away.

“Think we should check for survivors?” Coach asked, when it was his turn to use the scope.

“You would have to be one lucky son of a bitch to survive something like that.” Nick noted. Of course they had managed to, but that was beside the point. “Plus, there are a lot of fucking zombies out there. We’re going to have to wait a few days to leave anyway.”

Thing was, Nick didn’t care if there were other survivors. He wasn’t going to risk his neck for some stranger, if they got to survive and Ellis didn’t.

Ellis would be pissed at him for saying something like that, but he wasn’t here. The kid's hat was hanging from his belt loop almost beckoning him not to be such an asshole. Though, what else could he do?

He and the others climbed down from the building to continue their scavenging. It had actually been pretty fruitful. They had found lots of canned food, ammo, snacks, more medicine. Of course, it was still awful in a way.

Because guess what, here was Ellis’s favorite soda, his favorite candy, ammo for his gun.

He tried so hard to ignore it at first. He’ll walk past the supplies, only to come back and shove them into his bag. It seemed easier that way.

No one was mentioning it. No one was saying anything. Not about Ellis, not about the fact they were stuck here until the horde fucked off, not about the fact that this part of town was almost zombie less. 

No one said anything.

The silence of all things was giving him a migraine. Nick wanted someone to break it, but he couldn’t do it himself. Thankfully he didn’t have to, because Rochelle must’ve been thinking the same thing.

“It’s… quiet without him.” She finally said. “I never thought I would miss someone telling a story about how their best friend almost got blown up.” Rochelle laughed a bit. Probably remembering one of the many long-winded stories Ellis had gone through during their time together.

“I wish I’d let him finish that story about how that dumb ass friend and he wrestled an alligator.” Coach admitted.

Nick let them chatter on, not having anything to add… because he couldn’t remember any of Ellis’s stories. He’d either toon the kid out or shut him down immediately depending on the situation.

“Any stories you would have liked to hear again, Nick?” Rochelle asked if she was reading his mind and mocking him.

“I think I’d sell my soul to hear any of those stupid stories.” He hadn’t meant to say that. Hadn’t meant to bring up how much he missed the kid.

Nick stopped walking, trying to just comprehend the shit situation they were never getting out of.

The others didn’t say anything but stayed close to let him know they were there.


	4. Decisions Decisions

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Keith comes up with a stupid plan, and Ellis decides there's nothing better to do. So why not?

Ellis had done more than his fair share of swearing this morning. Though Keith didn’t seem like he blamed him. First it was the fact the only way out of town was blocked by a fuck ton of zombies. Then it was the fact they couldn’t even leave the safe house, because this side of town had zombies all over the streets as well.

Keith thought it had something to do with the generators in the old high school nearby. They were keeping on the lights, but the constant humming of them kept the zombies’ attention.

Either way Ellis couldn’t get back to the others and had no way to signal them. Hopefully they were all ok. The horde had been thinning around the time he had gotten dragged off. They could handle themselves, but that didn’t stop him from worrying.

“You must really care about these folks, huh?” Keith asked, coming to sit next to him on the building’s edge.

“Of course, they’re pretty much family at this point.” Ellis smiled. “You’ll love em.”

“Think they’ll like me as much as they like you?”

“Hell, I think they’ll like you more! They tend to get pretty annoyed with me most of the time.”

_“Ellis, shut the hell up.”  
“We’re never going to have time for one of your stories.”  
“Damnit Ellis, you idiot!” _

“Actually… I kind of wonder if it’s easier without me.” He admitted.

Ellis wasn’t stupid, despite what other people thought of him. They hear his accent and just think dumb ass kid from the south. They didn't think of the grown man who owned a business, or person who would do anything for his family.

“El… if you feel that way, why the hell would you want to go back? The two of us could easily get out of this mess. Maybe find a car and drive out to Wyoming. Not a lot of people out there. Could find an old farmhouse somewhere.”

Ellis laughed, because moving out to the middle of nowhere had always been a dream of Keith’s.

“Nah. I’m just over thinking is all. I do talk a lot. One-time Nick and I were in an office building and…”

Keith was laughing now, as if he knew where the story was going. Ellis ended up telling him all of his favorite stories about the others.

He told them how Rochelle was one of the kindest people he had ever met. How he liked to think that if his and Keith’s dads were still alive, they’d be like Coach. How they were all sure Nick had killed a guy before, but he was pretty cool when you got to know him.

Ellis wondered if Keith could understand everything they had been through together. Why he was so insistent that they get back to them soon.

He couldn’t stop that nagging part of his brain, that told him they didn’t care if he was missing. That they weren’t looking for him. It was ridiculous, it had to be. However, it still made him want to get back to them before the town cleared out.

He and Keith ended up spending a while up on the side of the roof. Keith had found them a few beers, and they simply watched the infected roam around. It was kind of relaxing, zombies or not. Ellis had missed sitting next to his best friend and just talking.  
~~~

Day four (three and a half?) had Ellis pacing around the safe house. Keith had watched his best friend walk back and forth four about an hour, while he was cleaning his own gun.

He’s pretty sure he has never seen Ellis this upset. Not since their first day of second grade, where the teacher had decided to make them sit together in class since they had both lost their dads in recent times. Ever since then they had been best friends, and Ellis had always been the cheeriest son of a bitch he’d ever met.

Of course, it worried him to see his best friend so agitated. Keith just didn’t know what to do about it. He was never a smart man, especially if you looked at his track record. However, he could occasionally come up with a hair brained scheme that worked.

“So El, I was thinkin…”

“That’s never a good sign.”

“Shut up. I was thinkin, what if we lured the zombies away.” Keith finished.

Ellis stopped his pacing, to look at him confused. “Lure them how?”

“Well, there’s this fireworks store a few blocks south. We stay up high, and I think we can make it. There are plenty of semi-trucks to keep us off the ground.”

Ellis looked at him skeptically. “What are we gonna do when we make it to the store? “

“Burn it down.”

“Jesus Christ.”

“Come on! Not only will it lure out the zombies, but I bet it will take a shit ton of em out as well!” Keith explained.

Ellis groaned, running fingers through his hair. “You know what? I’m desperate enough to try anything.”

“Hell yeah! Alright, I already have some gasoline downstairs. I think we can get away with one gallon.”

“Why the fuck do we need that?”

“Well you wanna make sure it burns, right?”

Of course, Ellis couldn’t argue with that. They packed up and prepared for their journey to the other side of town.

Just like old times, even if zombies were now added to the mix. Before everything had gone to hell, they had plenty of times like this.

Keith would come up with some insanely stupid idea, and Ellis would tell him how stupid it really was. However, no matter how stupid, Ellis was always there to have his back. Whether it was bailing him out of jail or taking him to the emergency room.

It was like that time they had driven to Hinesville and found that abandoned amusement park. Keith had climbed the Ferris wheel, while Ellis told him they were gonna get arrested. 

They had gotten caught by the cops; however Ellis had talked them out of any punishment. He was good at that. People liked him. You never could say no, if he asked for something.

While they had gotten out without jail or a ticket, Keith had a lot of bruises from falling off the Ferris wheel. Ellis still made him go to the doctor, saying what would they do if he was bleeding internally.

The two of them worked well together. That’s why Keith was sure this plan would work. Everything worked out when it was the two of them. They would get the zombies out of the street and would find Ellis’s friends. Then it would be smooth sailing from there.


	5. Smoking

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Keith's plan doesn't go as planned, but it turns out ok.

Nick was jerked awake from his nap on the old couch in their safe house, by the loudest fucking noise he’d ever heard. Funny you think he would be used to that sort of thing now. However, he wasn’t used to… Were those fucking fireworks?

Fireworks that seemed like they were attracting every zombie in a ten-mile radius.

“What in the hell?” Coach was watching from the reinforced windows. “That looked pretty fucking deliberate.”

“You don’t think…” Rochelle stopped halfway through, but Nick knew exactly what she was asking,

“I think there’s only one dumb ass who would do something that stupid.” As soon as he said it, they were packing up their stuff and running out of the safe house.

Nick knew it was a long shot, he knew it was ridiculous to hope that this was Ellis but… it could be, right?

Nick silently begged, hoped and prayed this was Ellis. That they would find him up on a roof admiring his handy work. He wouldn’t know whether to punch or kiss him.  
~~~

The infected were so enraged that they largely ignored the small group. The three of them, stayed out of the main roads, instead choosing back alleys and buildings.

If this wasn’t Ellis, they may have missed their only way out of town.

The smoke drifted through the streets, obscuring most of their vision. This part of town smelled strongly of gunpowder and gasoline.

If the flaming zombies were any indication, they were getting close.

Then they heard the coughing… Coughing that, while the smoke was heavy, was not coming from any of them. Great. another Smoker. Hadn’t those things caused enough grief? The group formed a circle, back to back with their rifles raised.

Instead of an impossibly long tongue wrapping around one of them, someone simply fell in front of them. Someone who was not Ellis. Nick almost shot him.

If it hadn’t been for Rochelle pulling the man off the ground, and Coach leading them into a building, he probably would have. 

This is why Nick never hoped for everything. It was stupid for him to think… there was so much blood and all of his stuff…

“Shit! Shit! Shit!” The man shouted, pulling off his hat to run fingers through his red curls. “That didn’t go well.”

That accent was so heart wrenchingly familiar, that Nick was close to knocking him out, so he didn’t have to hear it. How did they find the one other redneck in the apocalypse that wasn't theirs?

“Didn’t go well, boy what the hell were you even thinking?” Coach asked.

He was a kid, wasn’t he? He couldn’t be older than Ellis.

“It wasn’t supposed to go that way!” He said quickly explained himself. “My buddy and I were trying to lure the zombies away from our side of town, then we ran into one of those leaper fuckers and… oh fuck! We got separated, I don’t know where he is!”

If the kid wasn’t panicking before, he was now. His dumb ass friend was probably dead too. 

Welcome to the club.

Rochelle was looking between Nick and who ever this fucking person was. “Sweetie, that hat you’re wearing…”

“Huh? My work hat?” He asked like she was nuts for thinking about hats, in the middle of the zombie apocalypse.

Nick was confused as well, until he actually bothered to look. The hat matched the one currently strapped to his belt.

“Is your name Keith?” Rochelle tried again. Her voice was the same soothing one she used on them, when a situation simply got too bad.

A look of recognition flashed over the kid’s face. “Holy shit! Yer Ellis’s friends! Man, he’s gonna be so happy…”

Nick cut him off by grabbing the collar of his shirt and shoving him into the wall. “Enough fucking around. Where did you last see Ellis?”

Keith blinked in confusion. “Trying to throw me around isn't going to solve the problem.”

Trying was the key word here, because while Ellis and Nick were almost the same height, Keith had a good few inches over both of them.

Nick was still going to punch him for answers. Coach must have noticed that, because he was pulling them apart.

“Alright now. Let’s just calm down. Where did the two of you get separated?”

“We were climbin the roof tops before the building fully went up. El got jumped by a fucking leaper, and it knocked him into an alley. I shot it before it landed… but those fugly bastards are pretty heavy.” Keith explained. “El said he was ok, but we got separated because the smoke was so heavy.”

Nick sighed in relief, running fingers through his own hair. Ellis was ok. He was fine and trying to get back to him… them. Back to them.

He was never going to let that dumb ass out of his sight again. Ellis would be lucky if Nick didn’t hand cuff them, together.

“Take us to where you got split up. We’ll go from there.” Coach said. “We’ll try to stay low and not drawl any attention to ourselves.”

The four of them reloaded their weapons and readied themselves for the outside. They would be ok, if the zombies stayed distracted enough.

Nick, who was all too ready to find Ellis and get out of this mess, took lead in front of the group. Which in hindsight was a stupid idea. Coach always took the lead, because it was difficult to knock the large x-football player off his feet.

Nick was much smaller than Coach, so his plan turned out to be a big fucking problem. Because the coughing they heard this time was not another human. Instead it was a Smoker. Nick didn’t even have a chance. It wrapped its large tongue around him and dragged him out of the group before anyone even realized what happened. 

It was ironic wasn’t it? He got separated in the same way Ellis did. If the others didn’t find him quick enough, the creature would suffocate him before he even got to see the kid again.

The tongue went from dragging him against the rough pavement, to hoisting him up a building. Its suffocating hold wouldn’t even let him breathe, much less call out for help. Fuck. How far had he gotten from his teammates?

Nick’s back hit the edge of the roof, and he prepared himself for a bite or slash from the creature trying to hang him. Except that it never came. Instead there was a sickening crack, and the tongue was loosening. He was suddenly pulled backwards onto the roof, by the back of his shirt.

“Shit, that was close. Thought you were supposed to be the smart one, Nick.”

Nick shook himself from his daze, to find Ellis unwrapping him from the creature.

“Don’t worry about the bruises now. I’ve got some pain pills in my bag. We’ll have you up good as new.” He was wearing that goofy ass smile that Nick had missed so fucking much.

“I’m glad you’re alright. I was getting real worried about y’all. Keith and I were stuck up in that safe house. Man, there were so many zombies.” Nick was pulled up to his feet, slightly stumbling.

Ellis just kept talking, and Nick let him… because he didn’t know what to say. He was right here. He was ok. He was smiling, like Nick hadn’t just gone through the worst few days of his life.

The kid had gotten a fresh pair of clothes, and even a shower by the looks of it. Of course, he wasn’t wearing his hat, and instead had soft brown curls brushing his forehead. Nick didn’t think he would have recognized him.

“Nick? You good man?” Ellis asked, bringing a hand to his face to check him over. “Smoker really did a number on ya.”

Nick didn’t give him a chance to say anything else. Instead he was grabbing the back of Ellis’s neck and pulling him in for a heavy kiss. He couldn’t explain why he chose to do that instead of having an actual conversation. But Ellis was so warm and solid against him.

Maybe it wasn’t the best kiss, on account of Ellis having no idea what was going on. However, Nick didn’t want it to end.

Hey, at least the kid hadn’t punched him in the face yet.

When he finally pulled away, Ellis was in a bit of a daze. Nick was kind of proud for putting him there.

“Could have said hello first, but I guess that works too.” Ellis finally said.

Before Nick could stop himself, he was laughing. He yanked Ellis back into him, burying his face in his shoulder. “You don’t know how happy I am to see you, Overalls.”

“Think I have a pretty good idea, but I’m happy to see you too.” Ellis wrapped his arms around him tightly.

He didn’t know, Nick realized. He didn’t know that they… “Kid. We thought you were dead.” Maybe Nick wanted him to know what they went through. Maybe he would be more careful.

“Wait what!?” Ellis was pushing him away, a hurt and confused look passing over his face.

Nick was regretting saying anything, because the kid looked so fucking panicked. He should have made that fact a little easier to swallow. But when it came down to it, Nick was a blunt man.

“We couldn’t find you… we searched all over the town and all we found was your stuff. Overalls, there was so much fucking blood.” Nick still couldn’t think about it, even with Ellis standing here in front of him.

“Jesus Christ.” Ellis said, rubbing his face in stress.

He probably shouldn’t tell him about how Ro had cried practically every night they’d been separated. How Coach would go deadly silent for hours at a time. How he himself has been plagued with nightmares every time he managed doze off.

Nick was so fucking tired. He just wanted to get Ellis back to the safe house and curl up with him for a few hours. Hell, maybe days.

He reached out to Ellis, gently pulling him back against him. Nick was never good at comforting people, so he pressed their lips back together. It was much better this time around, now that Ellis was actively participating.

He knew that they needed to have a long fucking talk about this, but the way Ellis deepened the kiss and tangled fingers in his hair, left his mind blank.

They could deal with the rest of this later, right now Nick just wanted to feel.

“Nick!?” Rochelle’s voice called from out in the smoke. Right… they were looking for him, weren’t they?

Ellis was pushing away from him again, rushing to the side of the roof. “Hey, we're up here!”

“Ellis? Holy shit! Ellis!” She sounded so relieved. 

Ellis must have noticed this and was brought back to the _all my friends thought I was dead_ fact. His smile fell as Nick walked over.

“Come on. Let’s get out of here.” He took Ellis’s hat from his belt and placed it over his curls… pulling the visor over his eyes.

“We’re on our way.” Nick called down.

~~~

When they made it back down, it was an Ellis free for all. Rochelle had thrown her arms around his neck, and Ellis had hugged her so tightly she was practically lifted off the ground.

Coach was next, simply throwing an arm over their shoulders and pulling them in. Ellis and Rochelle looked so small next to him. Though Nick was sure he would as well.

There weren’t a lot of words exchanged. Just relieved sighs of, _I’m so glad you’re ok._

Once the slightly tearful greetings were exchanged, the three had broken apart. Apparently, it was now Keith’s turn, because the two of them practically slammed into one another.

It almost looked painful.

“Man, I thought I’d lost ya again!” Keith shouted. He leaned his head against Ellis’s smiling. “You even got your hat back.”

It was at that moment Nick realized he hated Keith.


	6. Finally Some Rest

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The group finally finds a place to call home for a while.

Nick knew that going back to the safe house, and getting Ellis alone was a pipe dream. They only had one shot to get out of this town, not to mention it was probably going to burn down at some point now. Hopefully, if there was any form of government left, they wouldn’t frown upon that.

With both Ellis and Keith working on a vehicle, it didn’t take long for the group to be in a minivan, and on the road out of town. 

Now of course this wasn’t the reason for Nick’s bad mood. It was the fact that this minivan only had four seats, to add more cargo room. Keith volunteered to ride in the back, and of course Ellis wasn’t going to let his best friend ride alone. Even though there was nothing separating them other than a center console. 

It was getting pretty late now, and the two of them were passed out back there. Which would have been fine, if they weren’t practically laying on top of one another. The van had so much space and an empty seat. They didn’t have to be that close.

The only thing that kept Nick from being completely miserable, was the fact Ellis was leaning against the center console, with his head leaning against Nick’s arm.

God he hoped there was another safe house somewhere down this road. Maybe one with separate rooms, so he could get Ellis alone for a while.

Thankfully his prayers had been answered, at least after another hour in the van. They had managed to get around a hundred miles away after four hours, before they started seeing safe house markers.

It took them out to nearly the middle of nowhere. First a few miles of nothing but trees down a dirt road, then to an open field with a farmhouse. A little eerie at first sight, at least in Nick’s opinion.

That was until he realized that this particular safe house had fucking power, and was at least a four bed room. Nick was getting a shower and the chance to wash his clothes. Maybe even an actual bed. Nothing could ruin this. Nothing at all!

“Yeah, Ellis and I can share a room. We practically did our whole childhood.” Keith laughed.

Except for that. Fucking fanstatic. Of course Nick and Ellis didn’t have an excuse to bunk together. Not when it made much more sense for the childhood friends to.  
~~~  
Nick didn’t sulk. He was a grown man, who definitely wasn’t sitting alone in his designated room glaring holes into the ceiling.

He was absolutely not surprised by the knock at his door, and it didn’t cause him to roll off the bed to grab his gun.

Nick sighed straightening himself before opening the door. He couldn’t look too crazy, apocalypse be damned.

For some reason, Ellis was the last person he had expected to see at his door. “Ey Nick, mind if I…” of course he didn’t get the chance to finish what he was saying. 

Nick jerked him into the room, and pressed him into the door with a kiss. Hey the kid came to him, it wasn’t Nick’s fault if he wasn’t leaving.

“Is this how yer gonna greet me from now on?” Ellis asked when his mouth was no longer occupied.

“It’s a distinct possibility.” And he kissed him again.

Ellis had fingers tangled in his hair, giving just as much as he took.

Shit. They needed to be adults and talk about this. But Ellis was so fucking warm, and Nick was so touched starved. The whole situation was making his brain melt.

He still needed to know what Ellis felt about all of this though. Nick was practically coming on to him from nowhere. How could he not be confused, or asking a million questions?

When Nick did finally find the strength to pull away, he almost lost it, because Ellis had chased right after him. Thankfully he found a way to pacify them both, by softy pressing kisses into Ellis’s neck.

“What are we doing here, kiddo?” He finally asked.

“I dunno. I came in to ask if I could use yer shower, cause Coach is hogging the one in the hall.”

Nick sighed, tracing his thumbs over the kid’s cheek bones. “First of all, no. I have to share everything with you guys, this is mine. Second, you know that’s not what I mean.” Or maybe he didn’t. Who the fuck knew at this point.

“Not really. I’ve just been following your lead.”

“You don’t get to do that.” Nick said, glaring at him. “Just… What do you want to do?” He really didn’t want to think of the possibility that Ellis didn’t want this. There was no way he had been kissing him just as eagerly after all.

“I mean I’ve been kinda waitin for you and all… sucks you had to think I was dead to say anything but…” Ellis reached up to pull the visor of his hat over his eyes. Something he always did when he was embarrassed.

Nick had always found it endearing. Not right now of course, because he knocked the hat off the kid’s head.

“Well that was just plain rude.”

“Have I ever been anything else?”

Ellis was still glaring at him, so Nick kissed him as a slight apology.

“What do you mean you were waiting?”

“You didn’t think I noticed you staring at me all the time? Or that you hated sharing a bed, even when you practically laid on top of me?” Ellis asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Kind of?”

“Come on, Nick. I’m not that dumb.”

Nick frowned. “You could have said something. This fucking apocalypse could have been slightly less miserable.”

“You got defensive because I said you didn’t hate me. Excuse me if I didn’t think you wouldn’t punch me in the face for insinuating you wanted to sleep with me.” Ellis said, rolling his eyes. “Plus, I liked watching ya suffer.”

Nick, who didn’t know what to do with that information, decided it was time to use his new found power of being able to shut him up. He kissed Ellis again, doing his best to forget that whole tangent.

“Sure I can’t use yer shower?” Ellis asked when they pulled apart.

“Christ, just go.”

Ellis beamed, pulling him in for another quick kiss. “Thanks man, I’ll be out in a sec.” Then he was gone.

Not exactly how Nick pictured their first night together… but he’d take it. 

Actually… Nick walked to the bathroom, stripping off his suit. Why should he have to wait to use his own shower?

“Move over kid, I still need a shower to.” He said, pulling open the shower door and stepping in.

“Nick, you do relize this shower is fucking small, right?” Ellis was trying to act like he was annoyed, but his cheeks were tinted red.

“Maybe, but are you really going to say you’re not enjoying the view?” Because Nick certainly was. This was the first time he’d really seen Ellis fully naked. Apparently he had never paid enough attention, because he had more tattoos, than Nick had originally thought. One on his rib cage and one on his thigh. Nick was almost mesmerized by watching the water roll off them.

“Good thing you’re not full of yourself, huh.” Though Ellis didn't give him a chance to reply, as he was already pulling him in for a kiss.

Christ the kid was fit. He looked like a fucking poster boy for _counrty boys do it better._ You know what? Nick was inclined to believe it. They just don’t make them like they do in the south apparently. 

In a way it almost made Nick feel self conscious. He was thirty-six and throwing himself at a twenty-three year old. Of course he kept in shape, but Ellis was fucking perfect.

“As much as I want to keep going with this, I actually do need to shower.” Nick noted, as he gently pried their lips apart.

“You lost that privilege when you thought it was a good idea to invade my shower.” However, Ellis still handed him the shampoo that he’d been using, and turned to face the shower. Which left him with a fantastic view. 

Not only did he finally get a hot shower, but he got to do it while staring at Ellis.

Once he finally felt clean, he pressed up against Ellis’s back, softly pressing kisses to his neck. For once in his life, the kid was blissfully silent. He simply tilted his head to the side to give Nick all of the access he wanted.

Taking that as an invitation, Nick slowly trailed his fingers over warm skin. Ellis cursed softly, leaning back against his shoulder. It felt so fucking good to touch him. After every awful thing to happen to their little rag tag group, it was nice to just have something that didn’t involve running for their lives.

Nick continued just touching him. Listening to all of the quiet sounds he made. Apparently Ellis really liked when he’d occasionally softy bite down on his neck. Something Nick was quite happy about himself, as he was going to litter his smooth skin with bruises. 

Apparently Ellis was bored with their slow pace, because he turned around to pull him into a deep open mouth kiss. Nick let him have his moment. Let him take over in the rough way no one would expect him to.

However, Nick was frustrated too. He was really fucking hard, and Ellis was pressed so close up against him. He wanted to bend him over and fuck him right here in the shower. He wanted to hear Ellis’s moans bounce off the walls and echo in the small room.

Nick pushed Ellis up against the cool tile wall, practically shoving his tongue down his throat. He grinded up against him roughly, getting a soft moan and nails pressed into his skin as a reward.

“El.” He said gently, before moving in to kiss him again. This talking thing was hard when Ellis’s kiss swollen lips were right there. “If you let me have you right now, you can do whatever you want to me afterwards. You can fuck me, ride me, blow me. I don’t care.”

“Shit, Nick. Does it look like you even have to ask?” 

No, but everything confused him when it came to this man. If Nick could think straight around him, they would probably have a lot less problems. However, here Ellis was staring up at him with those overly trusting blue eyes, and water dripping off his full lips.

“Just checking, Fireball.” Nick said, pressing their lips back together. He slipped a hand between their to close bodies to take both of their cocks in a dreadfully slow pump. Slow or not, it lit all of his nerves on fire.

“Shit… that’s good. I like that…” Ellis mumbled against his lips. Nick knew he should go slow. He didn’t know how much experience Ellis had, or what he liked yet. But he was all Nick could think about at the moment. He needed to be close to him.

Nick managed to get a slow rhythm going between them, if only to keep Ellis softly saying his name.

“Tell me if you start to feel uncomfortable.”

“Mmm…”

Nick grabbed the bottle of hair conditioner off the shelf next to him. It earned him an annoyed huff from his partner, considering he took away their only source of stimulation.

Though Nick made up for it with another soft kiss. He nudged Ellis’s legs apart, so he could have better access with conditioner soaked fingers. Gently, he circled around Ellis’s entrance, causing him to bury his face in the curve of Nick’s neck

“I’ve got you Kid. Let me take care of you, yeah?” It was eerily close to what he’d tell him, when trying to patch up an injury. Though it apparently worked in both situations.

Nick slowly worked a finger into him, letting Ellis relax into him. He was so fucking tight. They should have done this in a bed. Nick would have been able to take his time, making sure Ellis was good and ready. Having him in the shower had just been so tempting.

He slowly pulled out, and slipped two fingers in. 

“Nick…”

“Almost there, El.” Nick relized that he would happily get Ellis off with his fingers. Maybe not right now, but for future reference. 

He stretched his fingers back and forth, taking the soft sounds Ellis made as encouragement to keep going.

If Nick was more of an asshole, he’d give up preparing Ellis and fuck him agaist the shower wall. However, he wanted this to be good for both of them.

“Nick. Faster. I thought you wanted to fuck me.”

It was funny how they always seemed to be on the same wavelength, because that was all he could currently think about.

Nick finally relented when Ellis could take three fingers. “Think you’re ready, Fireball?”

“I’ve been ready for the last ten minutes.”

“You know, I would have never expected you to be so demanding.” Nick said as he gently pushed Ellis’s wet hair from his forehead. 

“You’re about to see demandin, if you don’t hurry up.” 

It’d be fun to tease him. In fact, Nick would imagine that Ellis would have no problem taking control of their situation if he wanted to. However, that was another situation altogether, and he would have to put the images of Ellis riding him into the mattress to use later.

He nudged Ellis’s legs apart so he could line them up, and push in so agonizingly slow.

“Ah… Fuck. Fuck!” Ellis groaned, knocking his head back into the tile wall.

Huh. That was the most noise Nick had gotten out of him so far. He slipped a hand between Ellis’s head and the wall, to make sure he wouldn’t end up with a concussion, before sliding in.

In retrospect, it probably wouldnt be the best sex he’d ever had. But months of being so touch starved, and days of thinking Ellis was dead, made it pretty close. Nick could practically feel every nerve in his body lighting up, and they’d barely just started. Shit he was not going to last long.

“Good, El?”

“Uh huh.”

Nick gave a slow thrust, testing how Ellis would react.

“Shit...Ok… Come on Nick. I won’t break.” 

“Heh, careful what you ask for, Kid.” Nick rolled his hip roughly, almost knocking Ellis into the wall. Shit. He had to be careful. He hadn’t gotten the chance to check for injuries after their time apart.

“Yeah… ok. Just like that.”

You know, Nick didn’t need to be told twice. He fucked Ellis hard against the wall, tilting his head so he could catch those soft lips in another kiss. However, that didn’t last long because Ellis was still having trouble catching his breath. Nick had to settle for softly biting at his neck.

“Fuck, you’re doing great, Overalls. You don’t know how long I’ve wanted to do this.”

Ellis softly gasped his name, nuzzling against his shoulder.

“I know. Just bear with me just a bit longer.” Nick lifted Ellis’s leg just a bit higher, so he could get that perfect angle.

“Oh God! Right there!”

“Yeah? You wanna come for me, Fireball?”

“Uh huh…”

Nick hated that their first time was so fast, but they were both so tired. Emotionally and physically. Next time, he’d give Ellis a long hard ride.

Right now he just wanted to feel. Ellis was right here against him, and it drove Nick nuts. Fuck he felt so good.

“Ahah! Nick!” Ellis was gasping and coming between them. Nick knew he was close, but when the kid shouted his name… It drove him over the edge. He shoved himself roughly against Ellis , before coming nearly right after.

Well, it was a good thing they were in the shower. Nick lifted Ellis’s face from his shoulder, and kissed him again.  
~~~  
The sheets on the bed looked clean, but Nick didn’t trust anything that wasn’t soaked in bleach. Ellis on the other hand had crawled right into the bed, completely naked. Nick was going to have to sneak down stairs and toss their clothes into the washer.

Knowing there wasn’t a place for germaphobes in the apocalypse, Nick crawled into the cool sheets as well. When was the last time he slept in a real bed with pillows, blankets and a warm body next to him?

He gently pulled Ellis against his chest, nuzzling his hair. He smelled so good, and Nick couldn’t pinpoint why since they had both used the same soap.

He could get used to this though.


End file.
